Current Trends in Green Business
Last week, I attended and spoke at a two-day program at the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale titled The Business of Climate Change. Green knowledge experts representing green rock star companies like Xerox, GE, ING, and United Natural Foods spoke about the new economy and how their companies have developed and continue to enhance strong environmental economic models.
I was asked to participate on a panel regarding how the media has reported on green business and what are some of the opportunities and challenges to telling the story. The following are a few of the current green business trends I touched on in my opening remarks and some leading green firms in the state you may or may not know about.
What Financial Mess
While the economy is in a bit of tough spot due to the financial crisis, Cleanech Investment is pretty strong. Cleantech venture investing in Q2 came in with a record 66 deals and $897 million invested, topping the previous record of 55 deals and $736 million set in Q3 of 2007. Now those are Q2, I really don’t think that pace will keep up in Q3. Take that one step further, all the VC money that went into the successful dot.com firms that exist today are the same VC managers that are investing today in alternative and renewable energy projects. One step further, The U.S. Patent and Trademark office saw a 10 percent increase in trademark filings for green-themed marks, making it the busiest year ever according to a report filings for new trademarks set a record of more than 300,000 in 2007. The number broke the previous record of 289,000 set in 2000 during the Internet boom. The internet is at stage 2.0, green business is at 1.5.
The Carbon Economy Is Here
Cap and trade is alive and well. The cap-and-trade program created by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, also known as RGGI, is a consortium of 10 eastern states that banded together to develop a trading scheme to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. While other exchanges trade carbon credits that companies and consumers can buy voluntarily, the RGGI program is the first mandatory program limiting carbon-dioxide emissions in the United States. The cap-and-trade program sets a limit for how much carbon dioxide power plants can emit and allows companies that generate more than permitted to buy allowances from those that emit less. RGGI has set a cap of 188 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year from 2009 to 2014. The cap is roughly 4 percent above the annual average that RGGI states emitted between 2000 and 2004. The limit will drop by 2.5 percent per year from 2015 to 2018, resulting in a 10-percent emissions reduction from the 2009 limit.
Green Computing
Information Technology and green computing is very hot. IBM’s recent green marketing strategy is about lowering energy costs from desktop to data centers. Computers - not about speed anymore but about watts. And don’t forget RoHS and Energy Star computers. eWaste is becoming big business. Recycle used computers to a sustainable waste stream. Virtual meeting technology and social media platforms to tell your message have also become huge outlets to deliver green messages to a targeted audience.
Unsung Green Businesses in Connecticut
1. Green Earth Technologies, Stamford – Oil lubricants and other eco-friendly car products. Featured on CSI.
2. CNC Software, Tolland - One of the largest ground mounted Solar Array, geo-thermal and it’s a Google atmosphere.
3. Global Executive, Ridgefield - Global Executive, a conference and events logistics management company, has a partnership with BeGreen, the carbon offset division of Green Mountain Energy Company. Global Executive will offers conference participants and organizers the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions generated by attending organized business events. 1, 2 and 3 day stays for business travelers can be off set. They got a plan for you….
4. Max’s Restaurant Group, Hartford - Max Restaurant Group has introduced a new menu that supports local harvesting and dairy farms and fish providers while lowering the company’s carbon footprint. Max Fish uses a water filtration system that provides customers with water bottled on site, both carbonated and still. The bottles will be recycled and eliminate the need for bottles of water to be shipped in.
5. Subway, Milford – 22,000 changed a light bulb last Wednesday. Eco-store initiative with U.S. Green Building Council.
6. GreaseGuys, Hamden - a leading provider of on-site collection of grease waste from restaurants, school cafeterias, hospitals and other places that need to get rid of this commodity. I kid you not, grease is on an exchange and has a value.
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